There are conventional cellular and Wi-Fi systems that can provide for communication and data flow with mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) using either a cellular network (via cellular sub-system) or a Wi-Fi network (via Wi-Fi sub-system). Conventional cellular and Wi-Fi systems include a number of devices each having a specific single function or purpose. The conventional cellular and Wi-Fi systems are typically complex (e.g., having many nodes and protocols) and requiring relatively high capital expenditure and recurring operating and maintenance expenses.
The network devices within conventional cellular and Wi-Fi systems can include, for example, a home eNodeB gateway (HeNB-GW)/security gateway (Se-GW), mobility management entity (MME), serving gateway (S-GW), trusted wireless access gateway (T-WAG), packet data network gateway (P-GW), and traffic detection function (TDF). These network devices each have different and particular network functions for the handling and processing of communication and data flow between mobile devices and a cellular network or cloud computing infrastructure network (e.g., Internet provider network). Different combinations of these network devices are used when the mobile device interacts with a cellular network versus the mobile device interacting with a Wi-Fi network. For example, the mobile device utilizing the Wi-Fi network receives data from a cloud computing infrastructure network via the Wi-Fi sub-system that includes the T-WAG device in connection with P-GW and TDF devices. In contrast, the mobile device utilizing a first cellular network receives data from a cloud computing infrastructure network or second cellular network via a cellular sub-system that includes MME and S-GW devices in connection with P-GW and TDF devices.
The conventional cellular and Wi-Fi system can include network servers or databases in communication with specific network devices. For example, the MME device can be connected to a home subscriber server (HSS) which communicates with an authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) server. The P-GW and TDF devices can be connected to a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) server, an online charging server (OCS), and a charging gateway function (CFG) server. The TWAG device can be connected to an AAA server as well.
Different types of ports (e.g., S6a, S11, S5, Gx, Gy, Gz, SGi, and S2a) connect the network devices and network servers to one another providing specific pathways for the communication and data flow within the conventional cellular and Wi-Fi system. Since multiple network devices, along with multiple network servers, are interconnected to provide the overall functionality for the conventional cellular and Wi-Fi system, the communication and data flow can be easily disrupted (e.g., due to network device malfunctions or damaged ports between network devices). In addition, the many different devices required to implement such functionality require service costs and capital expenditures to establish and maintain.